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ooks | REVIEWS Cover to cover Leaf<strong>in</strong>g through books for gardeners and nature lovers The Bee Friendly Garden By Doug Purdie, Murdoch Books, $39.99 Like the proverbial canary <strong>in</strong> the coalm<strong>in</strong>e, the bee — or rather its absence — is often the first <strong>in</strong>dication that someth<strong>in</strong>g is amiss <strong>in</strong> our environment. Bees are our most important poll<strong>in</strong>ators and their numbers are <strong>in</strong> sharp decl<strong>in</strong>e. It’s not just the lethal effects of pesticides or the loss of habitat; the urban landscape, with its emphasis on lawns, concrete and forage-poor “architectural” plant<strong>in</strong>gs, curtails the bees’ short hops from flower to flower and isolates populations from one another, with disastrous results. What we need to do, says Doug Purdie, self-professed “beevangelist” and co-founder of The Urban Beehive project <strong>in</strong> Sydney, is put on our “bee goggles” and see the world like a bee. To that end, this extensively illustrated book shows how to create a bee-friendly garden and, ultimately, a “bee highway” across Australia, sav<strong>in</strong>g bees one backyard or balcony plant tub at a time. Passion: <strong>Organic</strong> Vegan Recipes to Live For By Anthea Amore, organicpassioncater<strong>in</strong>g.com, $39.95 Anthea Amore, the woman beh<strong>in</strong>d Byron Bay’s vegan cater<strong>in</strong>g company <strong>Organic</strong> Passion Cater<strong>in</strong>g, became a vegetarian at 14 and a vegan four years later — <strong>in</strong> spite of (or perhaps because of) her paternal Italian roots and the love of food that came with them. “As I had been a lover of meat and dist<strong>in</strong>ctly not vegetables, my family found this very amus<strong>in</strong>g,” she writes. “They made bets on how long I would last.” Nearly three decades later, Anthea’s still go<strong>in</strong>g strong and has poured her passion for organic, raw produce <strong>in</strong>to this stunn<strong>in</strong>g self-published cookbook. After a brief discussion of the ethics of food, Anthea launches <strong>in</strong>to 100-plus delicious recipes, from smoothies and soups to raw cashew hummus, sp<strong>in</strong>ach tagliatelle with vegan “Parmesan cheese” and san choy bow with crispy tempeh and macadamia, lime and coriander mayonnaise. For vegan beg<strong>in</strong>ners, there’s also a list of pantry must-haves. Nourish Bowls Photography by Issy Croker, Quadrille/Hardie Grant, $24.99 Whether you call it a hippie bowl, Buddha bowl, ra<strong>in</strong>bow vegie bowl, poke bowl or glow bowl, the concept beh<strong>in</strong>d the bowl craze is simple: to comb<strong>in</strong>e all the nutritional elements you need <strong>in</strong> each meal. Mean<strong>in</strong>g 25 per cent prote<strong>in</strong> (meat, fish, dairy, eggs or plant-based); 25 per cent complex carbohydrates (gra<strong>in</strong>s); 10 per cent healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil); seasonal fruit or vegetables (the largest proportion); some leafy greens; and dress<strong>in</strong>gs or topp<strong>in</strong>gs of seeds, nuts or berries. This beautiful book, illustrated by London-based photographer and food editor Issy Croker, provides 60 seasonal, hearty and photogenic recipes to help you build your daily bowls, from breakfast and light meals to hearty d<strong>in</strong>ner bowls. The book f<strong>in</strong>ishes with recipes for staples you can store, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g buttermilk dress<strong>in</strong>g, Creole spice mix, green Thai and laksa pastes and kimchi, the spicy Korean condiment. Let’s go bowl<strong>in</strong>g! Bees, Beekeep<strong>in</strong>g and Honey By John Mason & staff, ACS Distance Education, $32.95 Here’s an ebook that presents a practical guide to all aspects of beekeep<strong>in</strong>g and honey production, from how to build and where to locate your hive to harvest<strong>in</strong>g and us<strong>in</strong>g the end product <strong>in</strong> the kitchen. You’ll f<strong>in</strong>d detailed <strong>in</strong>formation about the different species of bees and their physiology, a guide to the seasonal tasks <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> bee husbandry, a chapter about bee health and diseases, pests and viruses, plus all the ways to attract bees to your garden. At a time when this beneficial <strong>in</strong>sect’s numbers are <strong>in</strong> decl<strong>in</strong>e, here’s your chance to do someth<strong>in</strong>g not only for your own garden and pantry but for the environment as a whole. Beekeep<strong>in</strong>g can even be a lucrative enterprise. With 106 pages <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g 46 pictures, this fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g ebook is available at acsbookshop.com. The House and Garden at Glenmore By Mickey Robertson, Murdoch Books, $59.99 This handsome book, lavishly illustrated with Daniel Shipp’s stunn<strong>in</strong>g photography, tells the story of how <strong>in</strong>terior designer Mickey Robertson and her husband made an impulse decision to buy a dilapidated sandstone cottage near Camden on the western edge of Sydney. Now, after nearly 30 years of pa<strong>in</strong>stak<strong>in</strong>g restoration and renewal, the colonial house, its garden and outly<strong>in</strong>g build<strong>in</strong>gs are someth<strong>in</strong>g of a showpiece and the focus of regular garden<strong>in</strong>g, cook<strong>in</strong>g and craft workshops run by the couple. Mickey is an engag<strong>in</strong>g writer and her account of Glenmore’s progress from grand folly to grand design, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g asides about her family life and the <strong>in</strong>spiration she draws from her ornamental garden, makes for amus<strong>in</strong>g and thoroughly distract<strong>in</strong>g read<strong>in</strong>g. A bonus chapter <strong>in</strong>cludes 30 seasonal recipes highlight<strong>in</strong>g the produce from her productive organic, biodynamic kitchen garden. <strong>Good</strong> <strong>Organic</strong> <strong>Garden<strong>in</strong>g</strong> | 102